In all the world's cultures, people sing, play instruments, and celebrate with music． It plays such an important role in our lives that all fields focus on its study, including one looking at the biology of music． Experts are finding that because of the way our brains process music, learning to play an instrument or just listening to music can have a wide range of benefits．
Music education has received a lot of attention． Learning to play an instrument can help children improve math, science, and language skills． One study in Canada tracked children's IQ scores for nine months, discovering that children who studied music had the biggest test score improvements． The secret may lie in the way reading music and playing notes uses several areas of the brain, increasing our ability to learn school subjects． For example, reading notes improves spatial （空间的） reasoning skills, which are helpful in solving math problems like fractions（分数）．
Music is also used for medical purposes, such as the treatment of diseases which affect memory． The secret lies in the way the brain processes music． One area near the forehead, the medial prefrontal cortex, connects music with memories stored in two other areas: the amygdale and hippocampus． That's why an old song can remind you of something that happened years ago． For patients suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's, listening to music can help unlock buried memories by strengthening musical pathways to memories．
With the evidence of music's benefits pouring in, it's no wonder some countries make music study a part of their education systems． People are recognizing that more than just a form of entertainment, music is also great for the brain．Scientists are studying music because _______．
| A．music can be used for medical treatments |
| B．music plays a very important role in our lives |
| C．our brains can possess music in different ways |
| D．music education has received a lot of attention |
According to the Canadian study, which children had increased IQ scores?
| A．Those who already had high IQs． |
| B．Those who had always played music． |
| C．Those who could not play any instrument． |
| D．Those who studied music for a period of time． |
Which of the following is a kind of disease?
| A．Spatial reasoning． | B．Alzheimer's． |
| C．The amygdale and hippocampus． | D．The medial prefrontal cortex． |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Music and health | B．Music and the mind |
| C．Music and education | D．Music and instruments |
In Canada you can find dogs, cats, horses, etc. in almost every family. These are their pets. People love these pets and have them as their good friends. Before they keep them in their houses, they take them to animal hospitals to give them injections(注射) so that they won’t carry diseases. They have special animal food stores, though they can get animal food in almost every kind of stores. Some people spend around two hundred Canadian dollars a month on animal food. When you visit people’s houses, they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them. You will also find that almost every family has a bird feeder in their garden. All kinds of birds are welcomed to come and have a good meal. They are free to come and go and nobody is allowed to kill any animal in Canada. They have a law against killing wild animals. If you killed an animal, you would be punished. If an animal happened to get run over by a car, people would be very sad about it.
People in Canada have many reasons to like animals. One of them might be: Their family ties are not as close as ours. When children grow up, they leave their parents and start their own life. Then the old will feel lonely. But pets can solve this problem. They can be good friends and never leave them alone.The passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．how to keep diseases from pets | B．Canadians have pets as friends |
| C．how to take good care of pets | D．life of the old in Canada |
Pets are given injections in animal hospitals ______.
| A．in order to keep them safe | B．after being taken home |
| C．because they carry diseases | D．because they are sick |
The word “bird feeder” in the second paragraph probably means ______.
| A．a person who gives food to birds | B．a container that has food for birds |
| C．something that catches birds | D．an animal that eats birds |
SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
Captain Good Fellow
Do your children enjoy interesting stories, funny games, and exciting dances? Captain Good Fellow will be ready to teach all these things to children of all ages at the City Theatre on Saturday morning at 10:00, free.
Walking Tour of the Town
Forget your worries on Saturday morning. Take a beautiful walk and learn about local history. Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9:30. Wear comfortable shoes!
Films at the Museum
Two European films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre. See Broken Window at 1:30. The Workers will be at 3:45. For further information, call 4987879.
International Picnic
Are you tired of eating the same food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world. Delicious and not expensive. Noon to 5:00 pm.
Take me out to the Ball Game
It’s October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Redbirds this year. Get your tickets at the gate. It might be cold—don’t forget sweaters and jackets.
Do You Want to Hear “The Zoo”?
“The Zoo”, a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US concert tomorrow night at 8:00 at Rose Hall, City College.You can probably eat Chinese, Italian, and Arab food ______.
| A．at the front entrance of City Hall | B．at the ball game |
| C．at 5:30 pm | D．at Central Park on Saturday |
You can see movies at ______.
| A．the City College | B．the Museum Theatre |
| C．the City Theatre | D．the Central Park |
If you are going on the Walking Tour, don’t forget ______.
| A．your comfortable shoes | B．your beautiful walk |
| C．your learning about local history | D．your worries |
The Redbirds ball games ______.
| A．is in the afternoon | B．is outside |
| C．is at the gate | D．might be cold |
When it comes to human resources, hiring highly-skilled staff is not usually enough for a company to function successfully. Besides the knowledge in their particular fields, employees must always have additional skills-----those of co-operation. In the case that work tasks can only be carried out by communicating with people, accepting common decisions, solving problems, sharing information and helping one another, teamwork skills are important.
While some jobs may require talent, the ability to work as a team is learned. There are no complicated formulas(规则); you don't need to have any special qualities or exceptional mental abilities. Individuals can be effective as a team if they have developed certain behaviors or habits of communication. Many companies, clubs and organizations use team building activities. Team building activities may include a number of teamwork elements. They are aimed at encouraging active participation in task accomplishment while all members have their roles as individuals and are able to co-operate towards a common goal as a team.
Many team building activities focus on problem solving and discussing team issues; thus argument as a way to common consensus (共识) is encouraged. Team building activities often involve recognition and identification of team member skills, talents, knowledge, and experiences which allow the team members to learn more about each other and fully utilize (利用) those skills where appropriate（合适的）. Many team activities are focused on developing keys to trust during challenging times.In the author's opinion, which of the following is important for a company to be successful?
| A．Specialized knowledge. | B．Highly-skilled staff. |
| C．Exceptional talent. | D．Teamwork skills. |
According to the second paragraph, co-operation skills______.
| A．require special qualities and abilities |
| B．are learned while working in a team |
| C．need exceptional mental abilities |
| D．are quite complicated to learn |
Team building activities are good for______.
| A．hiring employees with special talent |
| B．encouraging employees to co-operate |
| C．helping employees work independently |
| D．training employees in their special fields |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Team Building | B．Problem Solving |
| C．Communication Skills | D．Company Management |
As a boy, Sanders was much influenced by books about the sea, but by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a doctor. So he was often with the doctors and got along very well with them. When he was fourteen, he was already hanging around the hospital where he was supposed to be helping to clean the medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the doctors’ conversations with patients in the next room.
During the war Sanders served in the army as a surgeon(外科医生). “That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with real sufferers and on the whole making a success of my job.” In Rhodes he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skill to himself and had a firm belief that he could serve those who lived simply, and were dependent upon him. Thus, while in a position to tell them what to do he could feel he was serving them.
After the war, he married and set up a practice deep in the countryside, working under an old doctor who hated the sight of blood. This gave the younger man plenty of opportunities (机会) to go on working as a life-saver.When he was a small boy, books about the sea had made Sanders want to be ___.
| A．a surgeon | B．an army man | C．a sailor | D．a life-saver |
At the age of 14, Sanders ___.
| A．worked as a doctor by cleaning the medicine bottles |
| B．met some doctors who were very friendly to him |
| C．was interested in talking with patients |
| D．remained together with the doctors |
Having proved his skill to himself, Sanders ___.
| A．wanted to live a simple life like a countryman |
| B．came to realize that he was really working for his countrymen |
| C．taught himself life-saving |
| D．was highly respected by the old doctor |
When the war was over, he ___.
| A．learned from an old doctor because he was popular |
| B．started to hate the sight of blood while working |
| C．served the countrymen under an old doctor who needed someone to help him |
| D．had few chances to be a “life-saver” because he was younger |
Most children now chat daily either online or through their mobile phones. They are connecting to a huge number of other children all over the world. Some are shy “in real life” but are confident to communicate with others online; others find support from people of their own age on relationship issues, or problems at home.
Sometimes the online world, just like the real world, can introduce problems, such as arguments. Going online is great fun, but there are also a few people who use the Internet for offensive (冒犯性的) or illegal aims. Children must be made aware of both the good things and the dangers.
To keep children safe your management must cover the family computer. Just as you decide which TV pro-grams are suitable, you need to do the same for the websites and chat rooms your children visit. Remind your children that online friends are still strangers. Re-minding them of the risks will keep them alert (警惕).
Computer studies are part of schoolwork now, so it’s likely that your children may know more than you do. We get left behind when it comes to the latest gad-gets and the interactive areas of websites, like chat rooms and message boards, which are especially strange. The language of chat is strange to many parents, too. Chatters love to use abbreviations (缩写) such as: atb — all the best, bbfn — bye bye for now, cul8er — see you later, gr8 — great, Idk — I don’t know, imbl — it must be love, kit — keep in touch, paw — parents are watching, lol — laugh out loud, xlnt — excellent!The passage is meant for ______.
| A．children | B．parents | C．teachers | D．net bar owners |
Which of the following will the author probably agree with?
| A．The Internet is no good for children. |
| B．The chat language is strange to adults. |
| C．Children shouldn’t chat so much online. |
| D．The Internet is a good place for children. |
In order to keep children safe online, you’d better ______.
| A．choose suitable websites and chat rooms for them |
| B．teach them to use correct net words |
| C．surf the Internet together with them |
| D．forbid them to use the Internet |
If you stand beside him when your son is chatting about something secret online, he may use ______.
| A．bbfn | B．lol | C．paw | D．cul8er |